The Eliacube Cycle
by The Idle Raspberry
Summary: After their last battle at the Purple Claws Island, the Tofu Brotherhood's members are forced to come back to the Sadida Kingdom, because of mysterious messages...
1. Chapter 1

The Sadidas's meadows.

Maybe the most quiet place in the Twelve's World.

Or maybe not.

-YAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

BAM!

Clods rose up by dozens from the place where the projectile, threw at high-speed, just crashed. Then silence came back in the meadow, bringing back the initial calm. A little shape, curled up into the small hole that its fall had formed, started to groan.

-Yugo! Hey, Yugo!

Another projectile came through the trees, but this time with more control than the first one, and rushed to the hole in the grass.

-Yugo, come on, bro!

A small dragon, with a pearly white body covered with scales, with a touch of light blue in it, landed next to the little groaning shape. He raised his paw, and touched his brother's shoulder. The little human coughed, and raised his head. He had two night-black eyes, a messy mop of dark-blond hair, and… Two large blue wings, that emerged from his head. Yugo -since it was his name- wrinkled his nose, and winced toward the dragon. Who roared with laughter.

-Bah! You're still as hopeless as ever!

-Shut up, Adamaï.

-Hey, calm down, it's not my fault if you don't really control your… Wings.

-Come on, laugh at it… I don't have a very good training, that's all.

The young boy straightened himself up with difficulty. He wore an orange tunic, blue shorts, and had in his left hand a large hat, in the same blue that his pants. He put it back on his head, covering the wings, and dust off his tights.

-Anyway, I'm done for today. The others are gonna come really soon, and I remind you that they still don't know what's the thing I'm hiding under my hat. They'll be incredulous when I'll tell them, won't they, Ad'?

The dragon shrugged his shoulders, and dropped himself alongside his brother. While twisting a blade of grass in his fingers, Yugo asked him with a really tiny voice:

-Do… Do you think that they'll have changed?

-Dunno. I mean, yes, certainly. It's been six months since our last meeting, though.

-Six months…

Yugo huffed slowly, and raised his eyes towards the unclouded sky. Six months. Six months since he met his fellow Eliatropes, and left them almost immediately to rejoin his friends. Six months since he defeated Qilby, the traitor, and locked him into the white dimension. Qilby, who was still haunting his nights. Six months since Amalia, Evangelyne, Sadlygrove, Ruel and himself has been separated. Yugo felt the blush running to his cheeks: he had been waiting so long for this moment… Adamaï noticed the expression on his brother's face, nudged him and said sarcastically:

-Oh, come on! Lil' Yugo is feeling sentimental? It won't even surprise me if you cry when they'll arrive, you see…

-You're just jealous.

Adamaï opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly, hushed voices came through the bushes. Yugo stood up immediately, and risked a step towards the trees. The voices were coming to them, and he could hear that one of them was the voice of an old man, kind of hoarse, and that the other one was a high-pitched, grumpy girl voice. Two shapes came out of the trees.

-For the Goddess's sake, Ruel, you could have put on other clothes, for once! I mean, I wonder if you even _change_ them…

-Amalia, may I remind you that I am NOT a princess, and that I have others preoccupations than my wardrobe.

-Yeah, but still…

-YEAAAAAAAAH!

Yugo rushed into the young princess's arms, and hugged her tight. A tear rolled on his cheek, which made Adamaï, who was running after him, sneer harder than ever.

-What did I say? You're such the sentimental type, Yugo…

The young Eliatrope didn't even bother. While raising his face, he noticed little teardrops on his friend's dark-skinned cheeks. Behind her, Ruel, Yugo's father's best friend of all times, was gently patting the top of Adamaï's head. Yugo finally released Amalia, who sniffed, and looked at him sympathetically. If old Ruel's attention wasn't really focused on his appearance, Amalia was seriously good-looking: her apple-green hair, ordinarily messy, was braided down her right shoulder, and her normal outfit was replaced by a gorgeous cardinal-red dress, probably made of rose petals. Moreover, Amalia was beaming, and that was sort of exceptional.

-You know, smiling actually _does_ fit you well, Amalia!

-Shut up, you little brat, she said, gently pulling a wick of his hair.

-You're calling me a brat? Come on, you're just a year older than me!

-Yeah… But I celebrated my 15 years last month. And you'll only be 14 in two weeks, won't you, Lil' Yugo?

-Talking of Yugo, come and say hello to your old man, boy!

The little Eliatrope turned his head, and rushed into Ruel's opened arms. The Enutrof laughed, ruffled the blond wicks that came out of his hat, and took him by his shoulders to examine him.

-Well, it's OK, you haven't really changed… Maybe you've muscled a bit… And it can't be bad, can it?

-A _bit_? Are you kidding me, I've been working out for six months!

-Bah, it's okay-ish. You're reminding me when I was your age.

Adamaï coughed.

-Hey, excuse me, I really hate to break the mood, but we're missing two people.

-Yeah, well, I'm sure they're together, said Amalia.

-By the way, have you had any news from them? asked Yugo.

-Nope… The only news that I've had from outside were your message for my birthday -thanks, by the way- and a rapid visit of Eva, five months from now, who came to tell me that she didn't wanted to be my bodyguard anymore. I agreed, of course. I mean, she was leaving with the other stupid to, uh… Well, she clearly needed a break in her life, you know… We all did.

-Plus, she was the one who was shot by Smisse last time, instead of Cleo, remember?

Nobody added anything. They were all remembering the last battle they did, on the Purple Claws Island. The most affected by this event was of course the young Eliatrope, who fought in another dimension, and who was everyday frustrated because he had to let his brothers and sisters in their own world, in the custody of Balthazar. Even if the old dragon was taking good care of them, Yugo couldn't help thinking that he abandoned them. He was missing them very much.

Adamaï broke the silence by coughing again.

-D'you need some medicine, Ad'?

-Ah-ah. Very funny. I think I've heard something.

The small group stopped talking. Actually, noises came through the trees, at the exact opposite of the place where Amalia and Ruel arrived. Yugo listened carefully: he heard steps, he was sure. The four of them walked slowly to the spot where the noises came.

-I swear, if we're late, I'll _kill_ _you_.

-Oh come off it, Eva! Seriously, I thought Yugo said the second meadow next to the palace's entrance…

-Well, next time, I will be the one who reads Yugo's indications, okay? We'll see if it's this one, as there was nobody in the second meadow… I mean, there's also your statue, so it would be totally logical if Yugo was there too…

-Hey, you stupid Iop! You really are an idiot! shouted Adamaï.

The footsteps stopped, and then started to run towards them. Two young people came out of the bushes. The first one, a beautiful Cra with short blond hair, and almond-shaped emerald green eyes, jumped on Amalia, and hugged her, laughing. The second one, a dark-skinned Iop, who had large grey eyes and a mop of red hair with a black wick, run towards Yugo, Adamaï and Ruel, and greeted them with a big laugh.

-Wow, it's so weird… And so cool to see you! said Sadlygrove while hugging Amalia.

-Evangelyne, you look great! mumbled Yugo, pressed against the girl's side.

-Yeah, well, I think that I owe that to my vacations… But I've missed you, Yugo, smiled Eva, gently stroking the boy's hair.

-Ugh, Grovy, how I've been missing your despicable Iop brain! laughed Amalia, patting the top of the ginger's head.

-I know, everybody needs their Iops, don't they?

Seventeen-years-old Sadlygrove was kind of tall, as usual, and was wearing grey flax pants, and of course his own Iop cloak. He also had his Shushu, Rubilax, tied to his waist. Meanwhile, Evangelyne looked stunning, as usual. She was wearing a black top, black shorts and leather boots up to her tights. Her green eyes were shining under the sunlight, and the wisdom that could be read in her gaze made her look older than 18. Her Cra bow was hanging on her shoulder, made shiny by her good care. Yugo contemplated his friends with bliss: this was it! At last, the Brotherhood was complete again! His dark eyes met Eva's, and she smiled in his direction.

-Well… It's great to see you again, guys, but Yugo, will you explain us why did you send those letters?

-Yeah, we kind of were on vacation, said Grovy.

-Uh… Letters?

Two pairs of wondering eyes turned to him.

-Er, well, the letters we received, Eva and I, started Grovy, scratching his head.

-Yeah, letters with your name as a signature. With the entire route we had to do to get here. Oh, and with a note saying that our meeting was very, very important, said Evangelyne.

-But… But I never sent those letters! I didn't even know where you were gone!

-So how did you know that we were supposed to meet here?

-Well, Az brought us an anonymous message, saying that you'll all be here today…, said Adamaï.

Yugo's little Tofu raised his head from the young Eliatrope's pocket. He stared at the little assembly for a moment, shouted a small cry, and rushed into Amalia's hair. She laughed, and took the little bird to put him on her shoulder. The Sadida looked back at her friends.

-As for me, Jarvis told me that Yugo was waiting for me there. This is quite a coincidence, though!

-And I received a message signed by your father, Amalia, saying the same thing as your letters. Then I came here, and Ami' and I bumped into each other, said Ruel.

Silence fell on the Brotherhood. Yugo's heart was beating louder and louder. It seemed like a trap.

A big one.

A bush moved.

Evangelyne stepped towards Amalia, instinctively protecting her with her bow.

-Hey, calm down Eva. You're not my bodyguard anymore. I'm a big girl.

-Oh, sorry. Reflex.

-What the heck is this…?

The bush moved again. Sadlygrove took out his sword, making little noises to express his gladness about the fight that was about to follow. Ruel brandished his Enutrof shovel, Adamaï let his claws out, and Yugo held out his hands full of Wakfu. He was ready.

The bush kept moving.

Yugo wasn't breathing anymore.

Quietly, Eva waved him to step forward. So he rose up his foot with caution…

-YEEEEEEEEEEH!

And of course, it was useless. Grovy's Iop instinct had already taken control of his body. He rushed to the bush, yelling like a warrior, and…

BOAM!

Found himself propelled. Like if one of Yugo's shields had touched him. The rest of the gang whizzed to the little bush that seemed so innocent, when an ethereal voice came through it.

-Calm down, you all. I'm sure no one wants to get hurt like the Iop.

-Who the h… Amalia?

The young princess had risen up, and was walking to the bush. She turned her head towards her friends, and smiled.

-Come on, I know this voice. We all do!

She parted the leaves that covered the branches. A small man, hooded, with a long nose coming out of his sweatshirt was looking at them calmly.

-Huh? Jarvis? said Ruel, lowering his weapon.

-Himself, Enutrof.

-The messenger from Bonta to the Sadida Kingdom? But what the heck are you doing here?

-Seriously, bro, you've got to stop saying that, said Yugo.

-I'm saying what I want! What the heck does that h…

-Shut up, Adamaï! Master Jarvis, what's the purpose of this entire masquerade?

Jarvis sighed, and pulled himself out of the bush. He walked towards Grovy's statue, made by the Sadida people one year-and-a-half ago. Even if the young Iop has been rescued by Rubilax, and was now completely alive, the monument was still here, due to the popular demand, and for Grovy's joy. The young warrior was although coming back from the spot where he crashed, a huge hematoma adorning his forehead, which had probably hit a rock or something. Eva gently touched the wound, repressing a smile. Adamaï sighed, and coughed for the third time.

-Hey, sorry to bother you, lovebirds, but we kinda have to focus.

-Ad', I wish you were as cool as last time, groaned Grovy, pulling himself away from the Cra.

-I'll be cool later. Now, we listen to Jarvis!

-J-Jarvis? You were the one who attacked me?

-Let me tell you the whole story, Master Iop.

Yugo smiled. Sadlygrove's face relaxed immediately, and the warrior was now looking at the small man from Bonta with pride in his eyes. This was the tip with Iops. You just had to congratulate them. Jarvis jumped on a bench next to the statue, and looked at the six persons standing in front of him.

-I was the one who attacked you, yes. And I was also the one who sent you those messages. All of them. I needed something to bring all of you back here. Together. For Princess Amalia, it was easy, yes, but for the rest of you, I had to use a little strategy.

-Yeah, OK. So, basically… We've been fooled.

-Yes, but it was necessary, Master Iop. And anyway, you all wanted to be together again, didn't you?

-Grmmpf, groaned Grovy who hated to be fooled like every single Iop.

-So, you needed us, Master Jarvis. But why? asked Amalia.

-I… I'm not sure that you that you want to know why, but…

-Come on, we're here now! Go on! said Eva.

-Well…

Jarvis breathed. Looked at Yugo. And said:

-We lost Chibi and his dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

-Yugo!

Evangelyne's cry broke the heavy silence. Four pairs of eyes turned in her direction, while she was catching up Yugo by the shoulders. The Eliatrope's face was chalk-white, and his eyes were half-closed. Eva kneeled on the grass, and put his head on her knees. Grovy, Adamaï, Ruel and Amalia, who were a few steps behind them, rushed to the small corpse lying on the ground, and the little pearly dragon patted his brother's shoulders with his paws.

-Hey, bro, hold on!

-Oh, by the Gods, what's happening to him?! panicked Amalia, frenetically fanning Yugo's face with her hands.

-Uhhhhhh, I dunno, the chock, I suppose?

-I knew he wasn't going to be able to bear it…, said Jarvis.

Another silence fell on the Brotherhood. Adamaï was patting the young boy's cheeks, while Amalia was still fanning his face, but with a few leaves this time. Evangelyne and Sadlygrove looked anxiously at each other: last year, Yugo had lost his fellow Eliatropes again, even if their promise to come back when he'll be ready was a bit comforting him. The only other Eliatrope who was living in the Twelve's World was Yugo's little brother, Chibi, an adorable young boy aged of ten months or so, whose dragon was Grougaloragran, the very same dragon who raised Adamaï a few years ago, before dying by the hand of Nox, a Xelor half-sadistic, half-crazy. If Yugo had to lose his brother, he wouldn't handle it at all.

-Hey… Hey! He's regaining consciousness!

Everybody focused on the little Eliatrope, alerted by Amalia's shout. Indeed, Yugo had opened his dark eyes, and colours were coming back to his cheeks. Adamaï sighed of gladness, and slumped on the ground.

-Damn it, Yugo… You scared us! said Eva.

-I… I'm so sorry… I, uh…

-Yeah, you're still dizzy. It's the chock, repeated Grovy, looking as proud as the person who discovered how to make fire.

Yugo breathed for a few seconds, and then looked weakly at Jarvis.

-Master Bonta… Please, I'm begging you, are… Are you _sure_?

-Unfortunately, yes, young King.

-Don't call me like that, whispered Yugo.

-It's amazing, how you hate your title, even while waking up from a faint, observed Sadlygrove.

-Shut up, Grovy! mumbled Amalia.

-So, I was saying… Yes, I'm sure. I left Sir Alibert's devastated house two days from now.

-Uh… Wait. Alibert!? By the Goddess, is he fine?!

-Well, hum… We can't really say that, you see…

-WHAT!?

-Calm down, Yugo. We would have known, if his Wakfu had disappeared, said Adamaï, standing up.

-He's not dead, but… He's wounded. Seriously wounded. This is why I called you back to the Sadida Kingdom. The doctors are taking care of your father right now.

-Hey, Yugo!

Without any word of excuse for Eva, the Eliatrope stood up, and started to walk as quickly as he could with his dizziness to the palace. Adamaï didn't wait, and followed immediately his brother, Amalia, Evangelyne and Grovy quickly joining him. Ruel didn't move a bit. He stayed next to Jarvis, paralyzed by the new. Then he stood up too, and started to run towards his friends, realizing that his best friend was injured. Ahead of the little group, Yugo was now running.

-Yugo, Yugo, Yugo! called Amalia.

-What? said roughly the boy without stopping.

-Don't… Don't worry; I'm pretty sure that the doctors are doing a great job with your f…

-I didn't ask you anything.

Amalia opened her mouth… And closed it almost immediately. It was certain that during those six months of training with Adamaï, Yugo had changed. He wasn't the little boy that she could protect anymore, no; he was going to be 14 in two weeks! The young princess felt like if someone just punched her in the stomach: the kid that she met two years ago had grown up a lot. After ten minutes of running through the forest, the Brotherhood arrived in front of the palace's entrance. Amalia stepped towards the others, and opened the large wooden doors. She took the little group to the left corridor.

-Come this way… We'll soon be around the doctor's area.

-Huh, Ami'… We won't meet your brother, will we? asked anxiously Eva.

-Not at all. He's out at the Cra Kingdom, he has this training thing…

-Oh, Gods bless you!

They were walking through wooden corridors. Yugo was almost stepping on Amalia's feet, as he was running behind her. He wished he could feel his father's Wakfu, just to check if he was really badly injured. But he couldn't make it. He was thinking too much. His brain was certainly looking like a salad of emotions. Amalia suddenly stopped next to a door with a red cross on it, and opened it immediately. The dozen of healers that were working into the room turned their heads towards the princess, and kneeled with respect.

-Princess Sheran-Sharm, what c…

-DAD!

The doctors quickly moved away from the boy's path, as he rushed to his father's bed. Alibert was lying there, quite injured. His left eye was blackened, and his ordinarily smiling and kind face was striped with contusions. Yugo took his hand.

-Oh my… Yugo, son…

-I'm here, it's me…

-You're h… What are you _doing_ here? You were supposed to train with Adamaï!

-You're way more important than this bloody Wakfu, whispered the boy, hugging the man who raised him.

-I… It wasn't worth it. Your old man is doing very well. It's just…

-Yeah, I already know. Jarvis told us.

Alibert's face became grey. He was sweating a lot. He moved away from his son, looking terrified.

-It… It wasn't my fault. I swear, Yugo, I…

-Don't worry, I know. You protected me like I was your real son. You acted exactly the same with Chibi, didn't you?

-Oh, sure, but… They-they were too strong… So… Powerful…

-I see, you're not looking really well, dad. I understand.

-When Jarvis came, it was too late. They had taken him. I-I couldn't do anything…

-"They"? Who are they?

Alibert frowned.

-I don't know. They were hooded. But their smell was awful. It was like… Like sodium. They had power, too. Strong ones.

-What kind of power?

-Huh… To be honest, I've never seen something like that. They-they were like… Like _demons._

-Hum… Did they talk to you?

-Yes, yes, one of them took Lil' Chibi, and said… Oh, I don't really remember… Something like: "This one may be friendlier". That's all I remember.

-Alibert?

Adamaï was coming towards the man's bed, followed by the little group. Alibert smiled to the white and blue dragon:

-Oh, hey, Adamaï.

-Gosh, you're not good-looking, my friend! said Ruel, sitting on his best friend's bed.

-I'll always be better-looking than you, even injured!

-Sir, are you all right? asked Eva.

-Oh please, don't call me "Sir", my sweet Evangelyne. But yes, I'm okay. I'm feeling better than two days ago. You should have seen what these demons had done to me…

Demons.

The word just cleared Yugo's mind.

He looked at his friends. Amalia seemed like she was thinking about something. Adamaï was looking at Rubilax. And Grovy was staring at him with a concerned face. He was certainly thinking like him. He nodded to him, and pointed the door with his finger. Grovy's lips formed the word "okay", and he took Evangelyne's hand, and whispered something in her ear. Yugo told Ruel to take care of his father, hugged both of them, and left the infirmary with the rest of the group. He stopped his friends in the corridor, but Amalia stepped in front of him.

-No. Not here. Somebody could hear us. Let's go in my room.

They all rushed in the corridors, entered into Amalia's giant bedroom, and the princess locked the door. As soon as she got the key out of the door, Yugo started talking:

-Rushu. He's the one who took my brother.

-Oh, bingo. I was exactly thinking of that, said Amalia, sitting on floor next to Adamaï.

-Yep. The smell, the weird powers… That's how a Shushu works, added Grovy, dropping himself on Amalia's bed, next to Eva.

-Hey, come on, don't be a jerk. Shushus don't smell like crap! Well, most of us do, but… I don't!

Grovy looked at Rubilax for a second, and pulled him out of his sheath.

-Rubi, d'you think… That you could possibly recognize any Shushu by his smell?

-Yeah, that's a piece of cake. Every Shushu has his own smell. I think that I smell like cinnamon!

-Oh, c'mon…, groaned Eva.

-What? Maybe that's true! Anyway, you guys can't make the difference between two Shushus. Your nose isn't as powerful as ours.

-Hey now… Swords have a sense of smell?!

-Sure we do! What do you think we are, some kind of objects? That is _so rude_. Moving on: Alibert said that there were many attackers, right? Well, I don't think that Rushu came all the way just for that. He doesn't even know how to come in our world without an Eliatrope!

-So… He sent his minions? asked Amalia, sitting between Adamaï and Yugo.

-Yes ma'am. And we now know why he wanted Chibi, don't we?

Hearing his brother's name, Yugo's head rose up. But he didn't understand what the Shushu meant.

-Huh… No, we don't.

-Oh, come on! My idea of naming the gang "Rubi and the idiots" wasn't that bad, after all… Think about it: Rushu wanted Yugo last year, because of his power. He wanted to come in our world, to dominate everything, blah, blah, and he almost did. But! He was sent back by Grovy's master. So he's up here, so sad because he can't get his own little Eliatrope… And then he thinks: "Hey! This little moron has a brother!"

-So what?

-I can't believe that someone that DUMB is my master, Grovy!

-Will you shut up!?

-Well, no, I won't. And for the rest of you who didn't understand, like my _veeeeeeeery smart _master, what I meant was that…

-Rushu wants Chibi's powers to come back in the business, ended Eva.

-Oh yeah, blondie. That's it. In other words… This is a bloody mess!

* * *

_Hey! _

_Sorry that this chapter's coming up so late! I was on holidays and I didn't feel like translating!_

_Enjoy and review, as usual!_


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